


the tourist's guide to pandora

by delurks



Series: beyond the borderlands [3]
Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Alternate Universe, Borderlandscast, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2018-11-21 10:19:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 33
Words: 10,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11355447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delurks/pseuds/delurks
Summary: welcome wise traveller! this revised and updated edition introduces you to the basics of survival and how to find your way around on elpis and pandora. you’ll find that there are many, many locations of interest. this guide comes complete with lovely high definition images interspersed with charming commentary from locals! so what are you waiting for, flip to a chapter and get reading!





	1. the crooked caber (sanctuary hole)

**Author's Note:**

> this fic's intended to gather up all the extras posts on the borderlandscast blog! please note that there are major spoilers for this au contained in these chapters.

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/123699226281/more-location-scouting-i-hit-up-all-the-bars-i) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / - 

there are two floors to the building. the first floor has is where all the drinking happens and where ravs is usually found manning the counter (pun not intended). the back room is off limits to strangers. the doors to the back room are usually locked or closed. similarly, he doesn’t let strangers up the stairs since that’s where his own bedroom and the guest rooms are located. he only ever lets close friends drink on the second floor since the first floor usually gets very rowdy and crowded on busy nights. he does rent out the guest rooms but only to people he knows and trusts (i.e., vault hunters or freelancers).

ravs has had incidents happen where bandits have tried to ambush him when borrowing a room to get him to let other bandits into sanctuary hole now that it’s not rubble and ruins. thankfully, ravs is actually a one-man army (what with his love thumper shield and punches that can take out a goliath in one hit to its uncovered face). the guns on his person serve as backup if his fists don’t suffice. so yeah, that concludes that tour of ravs’ bar.


	2. oasis and hayter's folly

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/124214814697/welcome-to-oasis-nilesy-single-handedly-supplies) AND [HERE ](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/124299930804/hayters-folly-is-actually-one-of-my-favourite)TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

welcome to Oasis! nilesy single-handedly supplies this town with water sourced off-world. he used to go around selling water (and pools) on pandora until the plight of Oasis caused him to stay. it’s suspected that hyperion messing around with the moon has caused the town’s current status. the town used to be less of a desert though.

nilesy’s hotel is the red building in the last picture. there’s a pool he dug out around the back over the wall (that’s to the right of the building). a shield core keeps the water from evaporating. nilesy doesn’t turn it off to let prospective customers use it until he’s paid the full amount. it’s also pretty funny to watch thirsty people try to jump into it and bang their heads into an invisible wall instead. nilesy usually feels sorry for them and just gives them a glass of water and patches them up, but that shield is there for a  _reason_. 

nobody kills or punches nilesy because he’s the only saving grace the town has from dying of dehydration even though he charges quite a bit for water tax. hey, somebody’s got to pay for that water! he also has his own ways of getting people cough up money (cough, cat videos, cough).

hayter’s folly is actually very chill and quite gorgeous, minus the things shooting  or attempting to maul you. not picture in any of the first two pictures: the aftermath of the carnage after the vault hunters arrived.

  * **picture 1:**  the corridor where the vault hunters (plus nilesy) took cover.
  * **picture 2:**  the stairs in the middle lead up to the corridor in the first picture.
  * **picture 3:** will strife installed the final component of the water pump in the springs. not pictured: beach party.




	3. stingrays

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/124381408575/strifes-stingray-is-the-coolest-stingrays) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

> Strife’s Stingray is the _coolest_. 

Stingrays are a hover bike with the ability to ‘jump’ over long distances under low gravity conditions, are equipped with a laser cannon up front, with the rear turret coming in flak cannon or cryo missile types. Stingrays also have a spiked grill in the front for ramming, though can squash anybody or anything unfortunate to be underneath it wherever it lands. The Stingray doesn’t have a boost, so it’s slower than road vehicles and the lack of protective armor leaves the driver vulnerable, though its jump ability and maneuverability offers advantages to its use. 

Will Strife obtained his flak cannon Stringray by copying the digistruct blueprint available from the Elpis Catch-A-Ride stations. He prefers the Stingray for traveling when the bandit technical trucks can’t handle extremely rough terrain. Strife’s Stingray is recognizable by its burnt red skin (aptly named Blood Moon).

While the vertical jumping ability of the Stingray is somewhat impeded on Pandora due to higher gravity, it nonetheless, still has a decent jump height and range due to Will’s tinkering at the cost of engine ability. After he triggers a jump, it takes a longer time to cool down and build up enough charge to jump again compared to on Elpis.  

Provided that people have been to the moon and were smart enough to copy the blueprint while there, it’s possible to spawn Stingrays from Catch-A-Ride stations on Pandora. Other known owners of their own Stingrays (each with personal modifications and paint jobs) are HybridPanda and Saberial. It’s suspected that more owners of the Stingyray exist on Pandora, but are extremely rare given the difficulty of travelling to the moon and back. 


	4. three horns clinic (lalnable hector)

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/125648219106/lalnables-clinic-floor-plan-some-lalnable) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/138535502789/a-peek-inside-lalnables-clinic-you-can-find-the) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

  * the windows have been barred and covered with metal shutters, so escape or breaking in is extremely difficult. lalnable probably has a secret back door somewhere that only he knows about.
  * the door locks to most of the rooms (save to lalnable’s room) are broken or missing on purpose and due to previous tenants. he has however, added locks to his storage units, fridges, medicine cabinets and surgical tools. the laboratory is also locked for obvious reasons. he keeps the keys in his inventory and never leaves them out in the open.
  * the place used to be a small motel. lalnable repurposed it as a clinic. 
  * the clutter in most of the rooms is deliberate. lalnable is one of those people who forgets where things are if they’re put away so he just ends up leaving them out so he’ll remember exactly where it is (another resemblance to lalna in that aspect). he is also the kind of person who instantly knows if someone’s stolen or moved something from the clutter.
  * some of the walls are really thin, so when he’s working on a shortage of painkillers, sometimes his other patients hear his current patient scream, curse, cry or wet themselves. he’s actually quite an attentive doctor but most of his other patients think he’s really rough-handed. lalnable says it’s because bandits can’t handle a bit of pain. sometime he deliberately doesn’t give them painkillers since he thinks it’s a waste to use it on them. yeah, he doesn’t have the best beside manner, given the lack of an assistant/nurse.
  * he’s still adjusting to the over 90 hour day and night cycle, so he is really grumpy all the time. his actual personality is still pretty much insufferable, but only slightly less so.
  * lalnable is usually napping in his room when he’s not on call. his room is the closest to the waiting room so people usually just rock up and bang on the door when they need him.
  * if people want to stay overnight, he just lets them sleep in the post-surgery room if it’s not full.
  * he changes the sheets and cleans the place every day since he’s a stickler for cleanliness, a habit he still indulges in despite having fled to pandora. it brings him a little comfort.
  * he does do house calls. however, it’s very rare since he usually just makes them come to him because he doesn’t like leaving his clinic unattended. compared to lalna, he is completely comfortable with fast travel.
  * he also has a strict ‘no weapons’ policy or else he refuses to work (even when held at gunpoint). there’s been a couple of close calls but since he’s a really good bluffer, most of his stubborn patients usually end up putting their guns away and caving in to him. strangely enough, he makes an exception for vault hunters or freelancers he trusts. maybe he knows that it’s nearly impossible to convince them to part from their guns, however briefly.
  * he has outstanding debts from some of the bandit clans who have him down as their primary doctor. he doesn’t hold it over their heads though and only ever uses to get free passage through their territory if he’s off to pick up some stuff so he doesn’t have to take the longer (and arguably, more/less safer) main roads. they’re pretty friendly to him, actually. sometimes they even pick up the stuff for him since he’s done them a lot of favours in stitching up their buddy or w/e.
  * lalnable doesn’t treat pets. he’d rather direct them to somebody called 'lomadia’, who takes it from there.
  * bonus, unrelated trivia: lalnable actually acts closer to lalna when completely drunk. so far, nobody’s ever seen him drunk. ravs is trying pretty hard but lalnable tends to up and leave after his second drink to avoid any potential embarrassment. his tolerance is also the same as lalna’s. 




	5. rail bros garage (the dust)

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/125732366195/not-pictured-the-echoset-that-strippin-knocked) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

not pictured: the echoset that strippin knocked over with his impeccable aim.

the inside of the rail bros. house and garage sits in a slightly less sandy part of the dust, right on the outskirts. they took over one of scooter’s old garages for super cheap using almost all their savings when they initially got stranded on pandora. the two are still trying to earn enough from repair jobs to buy their way off pandora (aside from suing the ever-loving shit out of sipsco.).

there’s actually a second floor to the building that doesn’t have any windows. to get up there, you sort of need to go around the back up the staircase. not very convenient but strippin and benji sort of sleep in the garage anyway since they are very lazy about relocating upstairs whenever they need to sleep.


	6. three horns valley (happy pig motel)

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/125902761730/the-original-happy-pig-motel-at-three-horns-valley) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

> The original Happy Pig Motel at Three Horns Valley at night. How many times have I passed this on my way to Sanctuary Hole? I’ve never slept in one of the rooms since it always gave me the creeps (more so than usual).
> 
> Contrary to popular belief, the place is not haunted.

this is also known as the site where lalnable’s clinic is located. he renovated the motel once he bought the property for super cheap since bandits swept through and trashed the place a long time ago. 

he still keeps the steam generator, bounty board and the catch-a-ride and fast travel stations around. he has since gotten rid of the vending machines since they got in the way of the building renovations.

the view at night is fantastic!


	7. t-bone junction

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/131215300284/i-felt-like-i-was-being-watched-the-whole-time-we) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/131416308914/population-1-part-2-and-last-of-the-t-bone) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

> population: ~~1~~ 2

the town itself hasn’t changed much ever since zylus moved in, aside from the addition of a shield, turrets, missile launchers, loaders and worker bots scattered around the place.

there’s also the yellow tape still taped across the doorways of a few buildings that zylus hasn’t gotten around to decontaminating and cleaning out. he’s a busy guy, okay.

it’s a lot of work for one person but zylus somehow manages to keep the place up and running in addition to his airfield. something is usually broken or requiring his attention so he’s usually busy attending to it. the rest of his time is usually spent doing normal chores, making sure he’s not neglecting self-care, managing his many inventories or sleeping.

he tries not to get too down about the lack of other human beings in this place.

not much to say here except these are a few of the more prominent buildings that zylus emptied out when he was cataloguing all the supplies available. he keeps everything he scavenged from the town in the building he lives in so he doesn’t have to walk very far to get something.


	8. monster

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/131937313084/this-is-the-monster-vehicle-that-nanosounds-and) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

this is the monster vehicle that nanosounds and strife used to take down a drifter in chapter seven of tlvh! it comes with a front-end machine gun turret and a missile launcher as a turret. the missile launcher launches three missiles that home in on any nearby/marked target. it’s only a two-seater but people have been known to hang onto the side railings for car pooling.

the boost on the monster sucks since it’s so heavy so it doesn’t ever really get any sweet air time compared to the light runners and stingrays. that being said, it can take several more hard hits than the other two vehicle types. technicals fall in the middle in regards to air time and vehicle armour.

in terms of speed and manoeuvrability, the monster is surprisingly fast, even on sandy terrain. it takes a bit of getting used to in regards to the turning and handling, since it takes quite a bit of strength to get it to turn on a dime.

it’s also not that easy to get it to roll which is great because nanosounds is a hell of a driver. it’s a small miracle that strife didn’t want to throw up after they took care of the drifter considering the ridiculous stunts and turns she pulled to keep the drifter from catching up with them and punching through any of the wheels.

lalna is looking forward to test driving the monster. rythian? not so much. he’d rather stick to the good old technical, thanks.


	9. downed dahl frigate (the dahl headland)

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/133064969514/exterior-and-interior-of-a-dahl-frigate-hallways) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/133463808184/interior-of-a-dahl-frigate-bridge-meeting-room) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

> exterior and interior of a dahl frigate (hallways, security room, living quarters, airlock).

for the most part, daltos’ frigate is much more intact. it’s more than halfway to being fixed. all he needs to do aside from patching the hull breaches is obtain replacement parts for whatever was taken out during the initial crash landing. that million dollars strife stole? more than half of that was going towards buying engine parts.

the blitzkrieg blighters got their name from how they operate since most bandit camps aren’t really prepared for such devastating, lightning fast hit and run strikes. it is also not because of daltos regretting letting his lieutenants pick the name and was subsequently outnumbered in the vote after since the name immediately stuck.

daltos had the luxury of being able to obtain [buzzards](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fborderlands.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FBuzzard&t=MjQ2NDk1YzkxZDg5NDRhMDg2Yzg4MTQxNjFmZjYxMjcwMjBlZjYwNyxPT1hReUlsYg%3D%3D&b=t%3AgdWBvoObiys_376Etn3eVA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fborderlandscast.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F133064969514%2Fexterior-and-interior-of-a-dahl-frigate-hallways&m=0) early on. some of the older models still use [helicopter blades](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2F6b%2F9f%2F91%2F6b9f91d872a483aef371e3171f702390.jpg&t=NmNmYjZjMTNiZGE3YzhhMTg1MWMwNTBhYzUwMGZmMTg0YzViNmU1NixPT1hReUlsYg%3D%3D&b=t%3AgdWBvoObiys_376Etn3eVA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fborderlandscast.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F133064969514%2Fexterior-and-interior-of-a-dahl-frigate-hallways&m=0) in comparison to the[ thrusters](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fconceptartworld.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F09%2FBorderlands_2_Concept_Art_by_lorin_Wood_01a.jpg&t=ZmY5OGY1MDE2MGNkMDk3ZDA0MTI3NTc5NTk1ZDgzNzFhMjEzYjAxOSxPT1hReUlsYg%3D%3D&b=t%3AgdWBvoObiys_376Etn3eVA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fborderlandscast.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F133064969514%2Fexterior-and-interior-of-a-dahl-frigate-hallways&m=0) used on the more modern buzzards. it is really, really  _hard_ to hit such hard-hitting air based enemies, especially when they’re equipped with missiles/rockets/bombs and a machine gun turret.

buzzards can also be used to scout, drop off additional troops and supplies, so that makes them rather useful in and out of combat. surprisingly, they’re also easy to operate as the vault hunters found out.

unfortunately, the vault hunters didn’t take out all the buzzards during their escape since daltos had been smart enough to foresee stuff like that happening (e.g. accidents, mutiny, sabotage attempts) and likely has spare buzzards hidden somewhere.

it’s too bad he didn’t foresee vault hunters infiltrating his frigate and managing to make off with him. his bandits have operated several times without him being around, since he occasionally has to tag along on campaigns to make sure they don’t fuck up or for negotiations with other bandit lords or corporate ceos. his bandits will continue as they are without him. hopefully.

> interior of a dahl frigate (bridge, meeting room, server room and empty a.i. core).

the bridge is composed of two floors. everybody gets around via stairs or using the jump pads (at the risk of injury, mind you). the bridge was damaged rather badly during the crash landing, taking with it major pieces of hardware and equipment that weren’t all that easy to replace. daltos got most of it working again in a matter of days with the help of whatever was left of the engineers and bridge crew. 

they definitely had to cannibalize some parts from other areas of the frigate (some of which to this day, need to be replaced still) but since the bridge supports communications, maps, holographic projections, frigate status and etc., it was one of the first few things he focused on repairing.

one of the screencaps for the meeting room was used as a background for a doodle! the other screencap is taken from a different angle. daltos doesn’t usually let his lieutenants bring food into the room (and i quote, ‘this is not a fucking pizza party, this is a  _war meeting_ ’) but i guess he was in a good mood that day. his lieutenants have long since learned to just roll with his unpredictability.

what’s on the other side of the meeting room? a server room and the room that used to house the a.i. core. both rooms are barely functional. the servers just hold financial records, vehicle blueprints and frigate status reports and whatever else a bandit lord needs to keep records of, especially the terms and conditions of deals with corporate ceos since they can be devious. very, very devious.


	10. badass crater of badassitude

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/134717392559/location-scouting-at-the-badass-crater-of) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

the arena itself consists of only two floors (the fighting grounds and side rooms, respectively). since the proprietor got a hold of the arena, they’ve built the arena up so that it’s even taller so that they could fit in the platform and everything else to launch stuff up to it.

there’s an additional third floor under the arena which was dug out. it contains holding cells, gladiator quarters, training rooms and with that fancy pants area the proprietor uses to provide willing participants their last meal.

the arena roof is also not as open as you see in the pictures or else launched items would go flying off into the town and that would indeed be a bad thing for the folks living there.

the area is quite famous for those wanting to make a tidy sum off betting or getting right into the action. it’s a pretty lucrative and surprisingly legal business on pandora (next to skag farms, murder death rallies, bounty hunting, etc.).


	11. dahl 3rd brigade memorial dam (three horns)

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/136506034349/part-one-of-the-caps-taken-inside-the-bloodshot), [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/136592386524/part-two-of-the-caps-taken-inside-the-bloodshot), [HERE ](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/136670866959/part-three-of-the-caps-taken-inside-the-bloodshot)AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/136738101004/the-fourth-part-and-last-of-the-caps-taken-inside) FOR IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

> local history of the ‘dahl 3rd brigade memorial dam’.

the reason why the bloody bandits haven’t changed the name of their stronghold from ‘bloodshot stronghold’ is because every single time they do, parvis insists on calling it something extremely convoluted and hilariously long. everybody eventually forgets and reverts to calling it the ‘bloodshot stronghold/ramparts’. the original name of the dam has been long forgotten. **  
**

the name of the stronghold is a reference to a borderlands 2 bandit gang ‘the bloodshots’, the previous bandit clan living in the dam before vault hunters and hyperion wiped them out.

the bloodshots kidnapped the leader of the ‘crimson raiders’, one of the few non-bandit groups fighting the hyperion corporation at the time. the vault hunters were affiliated with the crimson raiders and did not take kindly to the kidnapping, hence their contribution to the slaughter.

to add to the mess at the time, hyperion (with the goal of kidnapping the crimson raider’s leader) sent down a small army of machines to attack; between hyperion and the vault hunters, it’s no wonder that the bloodshots were completely annihilated. it’s said that the bloodshots’ leader, flanksteak, died still trying to negotiate a ransom with hyperion.

the bloody bandits eventually moved into the empty, corpse-ridden stronghold not too long after. the dam had remained vacant up until then since there were ongoing disputes between some of the other clans who wanted that same stronghold. 

it wasn’t pretty when the other clans took offence at this underhanded approach so there was a lot of fighting between them and the bloody bandits as a result.

one of the clans that hit the hardest and practically decimated the bloody bandits’ ranks was the one that daltos leads, the blitzkrieg blighters. he patiently waited until the other clans had given up their attempts.

the other clans gave up pretty quickly since they didn’t want to push too hard at the risk of the dam being completely destroyed as a result of all the fighting and the bloody bandits actually putting up a fair fight in repelling any intruders.

without giving sufficient time for the bloody bandits to recover from their last attack, daltos ordered an ambush that drove the fighting into the dam itself without putting the outside of the dam at too much risk. 

this was made possible by daltos persuading the cannibalistic bandits (aka, the rats) who lived in a nearby area, the fridge, to attack, on top of his buzzards providing aerial support, troop drop offs and supplies.

if you ask parvis, he’ll say the battle raged on for _months_  (he’d also add that it’s a proud moment in his bandit clan’s brief, fledgeling history). if you ask daltos, daltos will give a derisive laugh and say it only lasted for about a week at most, adding that he’s run longer and more brutal campaigns.

the bloody bandits put up a vicious fight defending their new home but just as soon as they regained ground, they lost it almost straightaway. 

right when the bloody bandits were on the cusp of losing and had retreated to the very depths of the dam to recover, daltos echoed parvis and requested a meeting on neutral grounds to negotiate. said grounds was sanctuary hole, in the crooked caber. **  
**

they didn’t think he’d show up in person given his reputation but he did. parvis thought daltos was really cool for showing up in the first place, given that:

> it’s not everyday you get the warlord of the pandoran east coast visiting, especially considering he practically lives  _on the other side of the world_  and is probably super busy, you know, doing bandit lordy stuff, like me!

in comparison, daltos lacked parvis’ enthusiasm and simply wanted to drop by to say ‘hi’ to ravs, have a drink and to simply tell parvis:

> you can keep the fucking dam since it’s clear you’re not going to give it up that easily.

even more surprisingly, he and parvis then sat down and agreed on a truce. with conditions. it was actually parvis’ idea and sparkles will tell you that it’s extremely rare that parvis actually has decent ideas.

the two bandit lords argued a lot about it to the point where sparkles could hear them through  _the solid metal door_ ; thankfully, both bandit lords had left their guns at the door so they couldn’t just shoot each other the moment the meeting became heated or whenever they disagreed.

in pandora’s bloody history, it is one of the only five bandit lord meetings that ended on amicable terms and where one or both sides didn’t try to immediately backstab each other the second they exited neutral ground.

in reality though, ravs (the current meriff of sanctuary hole at the time) called in on favors the two of them owed him. his exact words were: **  
**

> could you knock off the fighting? you’re scaring half my citizens to death and don’t make me come over there because i will.

that and daltos had struck a deal with sipsco. (sjin specifically) so there wasn’t any need to take the dam anymore as a potential base, not with sipsco. promising additional support elsewhere. parvis and ravs simply assumed he’d just gotten sick of exerting so much effort and had given up like all the other clans.

so there you go, this pretty much ends a bit of local history within the three horns area. if you ask ravs about this event, ravs will tell you all about it and conclude with ‘bandits are a real headache to deal with, even the reasonable ones’, albeit with a fond, knowing smile.

anybody who’s asked him about this event is too busy blushing into their drink to know what he’s really on about.


	12. wurmwater

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/141826050559/part-one-of-the-wurmwater-reference-caps-i-hit-up) AND HERE TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

the interesting part about the area is that there are fossils of giant creatures that were once part of pandora’s aquatic wildlife. it’s highly debatable whether or not these still exist, given that the areas surrounding oasis dried up in the years after ravs, rythian and teep left. there’s very little drinkable water to be found out in the open; most of it is riddled with salt so filters and groundwater stores that haven’t been contaminated are regarded as precious treasures. or stalkers guard it.

that said, pirates guard their own stores of water (and booze) very zealously. it is rare that they’ll share it with other pirates, as pirates function a lot like bandits in terms of selfishly hoarding resources and refusing to share it without a fight. even amongst each other, disputes happen frequently and can quickly dissolve into a massive, free-for-all brawl.

one of the noted differences between bandits and pirates is that pirates do convene in annual mass gatherings, as per their code. this is largely for leaders of clans to throw their weight around and show off to one another who has the most territory, the most resources, the most pirates, the best skiff, etc. these gatherings occur in secret locations that change with every meeting. nobody has ever managed to sneak into a meeting and lived to tell the tale.

so, how do we know these gatherings exist? easy. passer-bys traveling past ‘secret’ gatherings have reported arguments, the sound of fighting, drinking, atrocious, out of of tune, raucous singing and music being played. also, all those skiffs are parked outside the location. since they’re pirates, nobody can tell them to knock it off or risk being lynched by them.

pirates also aren’t picky about where they settle, like bandits. so long as there’s a decent amount of shade, water nearby, room to brawl, park their skiffs and set up housing, they’re happy to settle anywhere. even near stalker territory (it gives them something to shoot at, you see, at the risk of being mauled or death by spikes).

in one of the above shots, you can see that these pirates have settled near a broadcasting station based by a hyperion owned eridium refinery. these two things haven’t existed yet in chapter two of ‘how to influence bandits and befriend them’, but they do in ‘tlvh’. nobody ever dares go to both places; the trail leading up to the areas is filled with sand worms, one area is inhabited by pirates and the other is filled with loaders.

hence, it’s no small wonder that the amount of tourists visiting the region dried up not long after the drought settled in. there is the occasional tourist but they’re as rare as a pirate having all of their teeth intact.

pirates don’t like being asked the question: so, did pirates or bandits exist first? bandits don’t like being asked that either; it keeps them up at night, and you’re likely to be shot in the face with a shotgun for asking (pirates also do this). both groups don’t also like being compared to one another, given that they regard each other with disdain and hostility.

bandits see themselves as fiercely independent and generally refuse to convene in a location inviting more than two clans at once; this is just a invitation for trouble, since no bandit lord can resist trying to kill off their rivals/competition. there’s a few exceptions of course, but rare. bandits see pirates as a bunch of morons for gathering by including those who might backstab them. pirates are also  _selfish_ and a bunch of dreamers (with all their talk of finding something called ‘blade’s treasure’).

pirates see bandits as a bunch of murderous assholes who are simply too bad-tempered to even gather to resolve issues (okay, while pirate gatherings tend to end up with everybody going home hungover and bruised, they always try to solve at least  _one_  issue per meeting). in their eyes, bandits always shoot first and ask questions later. pirates at least like to banter before shooting. talk of the vaults are viewed with suspicion since they firmly believe that the chances of finding pirate treasure is greater than ever finding even just one of those blasted vaults.

the list goes on. however, anybody who’s not a part of those two groups can tell you that both are a pain in the ass and might as well just be lumped in the same category, much to the indignation of bandits and pirates.


	13. sand skiffs

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/142283687139/the-technical-term-for-skiffs-are-sand-skiffs) TO GO TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

the technical term for skiffs are ‘sand skiffs’, but that renaming occurring after, you guessed it, once the seas started drying up. skiffs are powered by an anti-gravity engine and by means of levitation thrusters (that you can see on either side of the skiff pictured above). they are specific to the oasis region since the sand worm resides in the same area. the sand worm’s acid attacks can melt other types of vehicles; the coating applied to skiffs withstands the acid more readily compared to other types of vehicles. the same can’t be said for any of the skiffs’ passengers, though.

no skiff will actually ever stop hovering unless they are told to completely power down or if destroyed. skiffs have a default hovering height and will generally avoid most ground and water obstacles. in the case of the driver wanting height, skiffs can hover higher at the expense of fuel and power. loading cargo? simply lower the skiff.

skiffs can move a surprising amount of cargo, which makes them ideal for transporting a lot of items/people across rough terrain. however, they are loud as heck and are not inconspicuous, given that they throw up a lot of dust and debris in their wake. they’re also notoriously easy to board and knock off the road with a swift, hard enough ram from anything.

the front turret only ever shoots rockets, sawblades or harpoons, which requires pinpoint shooting on the driver’s part. the rear, machine gun turret is mounted on the deck and is weaker than the front turret. relying on the skiff’s weapons alone can prove disastrous which is why it’s always ideal to have two other people tagging along to shoot with actual non-skiff guns and weapons. 

it’s important to remember to drive below a certain speed or those on the foredeck can end up being thrown off with how fast the skiff is going or with sudden movements.

the hovering ability of skiffs makes them notoriously slippery to fly/pilot/drive. when parked on a slope, they tend to slide downhill unless anchored into place. they also don’t have natural brakes (relying on the first two side levitation thrusters instead) so skiffs accidents are relatively common in oasis amongst those unfamiliar with driving them and expect them to simply  _stop_ on demand.

that said, whoever had the idea of equipping skiffs with boost system is either a genius or  _really likes_ adrenaline rushes (could be both, though). those with vehicular induced motion sickness are advised to avoid catching a lift on a skiff since any resulting puke will degrade the skiff’s coating which is cheap and easily bought but tedious to reapply after any such incidents.


	14. opportunity

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/144237217329/part-one-of-two-opportunity-reference-caps) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/144324932189/last-part-of-the-opportunity-reference-caps) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

welcome to opportunity! this fancy ass place is where the sipsco. office and compound is located. at the time of borderlands 2, the city itself was in the middle of being constructed, which is when i took these screenshots.

in case you couldn’t tell by all the logos and propaganda, hyperion is largely responsible for the construction of the city. by the time ‘tlvh’ rolls around, the city itself is complete, but was left to flounder considering the person responsible for overseeing it is now dead. after that, the city was put up for sale since well, who wants to set foot on the planet after their ceo died on it?

sips and sjin decided to buy the plot of land (for dirt cheap, heh) and repurposed it. they claimed a couple of the buildings (a penthouse and the giant building at the waterfront district) as their own and rented out the rest to smaller companies. sips and sjin have removed all the hyperion branding where they could (including handsome jack’s statues), plus all the bodies and loader corpses left over from the vault hunters’ rampage back in bl2.

the city is situated out in the middle of a lake (the man who built the city claims to have made the lake himself). there’s only one bridge connecting the place up to the rest of the mainland. there is also a shield in place to prevent the place from being attacked by bandits and whatnot, so opportunity is pretty much ‘safe’ from most pandoran threats.

there’s also the loaders that digistruct if the security system is tripped. plus, most of the laws in place for ‘littering’ and ‘swearing’ being punishable by death were also removed by sips and sjin so the people living at opportunity can breathe a little easier. also because the two are guilty of said offences.

it was pretty tempting for sips to build giant statues of himself and put them up in place of the old ones but luckily, he got distracted and forgot about the idea (much to sherlock’s relief; sjin would have been 100% behind the idea). why yes, sips and sjin dominate opportunity since they pretty much own the place. 

opportunity is divided into several districts: 

  * the office complexes
  * living legend plaza
  * opportunity square
  * orbital delivery zone
  * the pits
  * residential quarter
  * waterfront district



prior to ‘how to influence bandits and befriend them’, the living legend plaza has been repurposed into a park and all the audio devices were uprooted and replaced by benches so sips can chill there and have lunch if he so chooses.

the pits also don’t exist now; they’re now a residential and office worker zone. same with the orbital drop zone, except the area’s been cordoned off since sjin would like to build a bowling alley or something equally ridiculous.

opportunity square is where all the fancy ass people like to do their shopping to buy stuff that’s actually imported and actually lasts longer than the crap bought elsewhere on pandora. there’s some locally made stuff but it’s not very popular. it’s only there because sips actually buys it (such as the rakk ale he’s so fond of, for one thing). otherwise, opportunity square is the place to go for high-quality goods (e.g. clothes, food, luxury items).

sipsco.’s food chain (called chilli wowas) is also based here, specializing in food guaranteed to melt your tongue off using locally sourced food products and the hottest of spices that can be found within the six galaxies.

the hyperion office complex is located way back at the start of opportunity near the bridge; there’s nothing much to say about it except daltos would have probably been stared at  _quite a bit_ when he first arrived since that’s where the majority of people congregate.

the waterfront district covers the well, waterfront area and the sipsco. building. this building is the largest within opportunity. sips and sjin run their pandora operations out of it. the building itself has several floors. sherlock staffs the front desk all by himself. it’s debateable whether or not sipsco. actually has any other workers since nobody else aside from the three have been seen entering and leaving the building.

sips and sjin have their offices on the top floor (mostly for the view and also so they can make sherlock walk all the way up if he has to deliver something since they forgot to put lifts in).


	15. wam bam island

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/146981581999/welcome-to-wam-bam-island-in-comparison-to-oasis) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

welcome to wam bam island! in comparison to oasis which is a drought and worm ridden hell, wam bam island is an idyllic picturesque paradise. said paradise is full of varkids, craboids and formerly, pirates. monkfish has been the sole caretaker for so long that nobody can quite precisely remember when they first popped up to do so. **  
**

the locals living nearby don’t mind monkfish’s presence because there’s some degree of mutual respect in place. it might also have something to do with the giant harpoon gun they use very effectively to stamp out varkids.

wam bam island is set on the northwestern coast in its very own private cove. it’s one of the few natural areas left that can genuinely be called a tourist attraction that hasn’t been spoiled by the presence of corporations. while business is slow during the off season, monkfish doesn’t mind. they prefer to be left alone, though are more than happy to help out any prospective tourists who randomly pop up (like sips, nilesy and lomadia).

how do they make their money? monkfish supplements their income by practising all manner of fishing and selling off the specimens they catch. sometimes people get sick of eating rations and pay a hilarious amount of money to eat fish, okay.

when i say ‘all manner of fishing’, this includes regular fishing, spear fishing, harpooning the larger specimens (like stubborn craboids that try to establish themselves next to the walk-in, underwater aquarium) and grenade fishing. only bandits and monkfish have mastered the art of grenade fishing. it’s hard to say which of the two is more successful. either way, the fish can agree that the sport should be made illegal.

anyway, the aquatic life on pandora is every bit as vicious as the terrestrial wildlife. it’s a wonder how monkfish still has all their limbs, though they do have excellent stories to go with the scars of close encounters. it’s rumored that monkfish once wrestled a craboid the size of a skyscraper with their bare hands, but that’s probably just a story made up by tourists who have had too much of the wine.


	16. the fridge

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](contrary%20to%20belief,%20the%20fridge%20is%20not%20named%20for%20how%20cold%20it%20is.%20it%20is%20named%20after%20the%20appliance.%20you%20know,%20the%20one%20where%20people%20store%20stuff%20in%20it%20so%20that%20it%20won%E2%80%99t%20go%20off.%20if%20you%20look%20at%20the%20%E2%80%98rats%E2%80%99%20who%20live%20here%20and%20their%20preferred%20diet,%20you%E2%80%99ll%20understand%20why%20the%20fridge%20earned%20its%20nickname.%20no?%20think%20back%20to%20what%20daltos%20promised%20those%20rats%20as%20%E2%80%98food%E2%80%99%20in%20exchange%20for%20fighting%20parvis%E2%80%99%20gang.%20%20the%20rats%20living%20in%20the%20fridge%20are%20the%20remnants%20of%20a%20gang%20that%20almost%20got%20wiped%20out%20after%20the%20vault%20hunters%20from%20bl2%20passed%20through%20the%20area.%20that%20said,%20parvis%20returned%20to%20wipe%20out%20the%20stragglers%20and%20escapees%20a%20month%20or%20so%20after%20he%20rebuilt%20his%20gang%20following%20the%20war%20over%20the%20dam.%20he%E2%80%99s%20been%20spending%20a%20whole%20week%20trying%20to%20root%20out%20all%20the%20rats,%20personally%20hunting%20down%20every%20single%20last%20one%20of%20them%20for%20what%20they%20did%20to%20him%20and%20his%20bandits.%20%20and%20so,%20the%20entire%20three%20horns%20area%20collectively%20breathed%20out%20a%20sigh%20of%20relief%20for%20parvis%20and%20sparkles%20cleaning%20up%20the%20fridge.%20not%20that%20it%20makes%20it%20any%20safer%20to%20traverse,%20given%20the%20constant%20population%20of%20rakks%20that%20flap%20around%20the%20peaks.%20there%E2%80%99s%20also%20rumors%20of%20stalkers%20and%20crystalisks%20lurking%20deeper%20in%20the%20unexplored%20caverns,%20so%20perhaps%20the%20fridge%20isn%E2%80%99t%20that%20safe%20for%20travelers%20in%20the%20first%20place.%20%20it%20still%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20eliminate%20the%20fact%20that%20the%20fridge%20makes%20a%20great%20shortcut%20though!%20) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

contrary to belief, the fridge is not named for how cold it is. it is named after the appliance. you know, the one where people store stuff in it so that it won’t go off. if you look at the ‘rats’ who live here and their preferred diet, you’ll understand why the fridge earned its nickname. no? think back to what daltos promised those rats as ‘food’ in exchange for fighting parvis’ gang.

the rats living in the fridge are the remnants of a gang that almost got wiped out after the vault hunters from bl2 passed through the area. that said, parvis returned to wipe out the stragglers and escapees a month or so after he rebuilt his gang following the war over the dam. he’s been spending a whole week trying to root out all the rats, personally hunting down every single last one of them for what they did to him and his bandits.

and so, the entire three horns area collectively breathed out a sigh of relief for parvis and sparkles cleaning up the fridge. not that it makes it any safer to traverse, given the constant population of rakks that flap around the peaks. there’s also rumors of stalkers and crystalisks lurking deeper in the unexplored caverns, so perhaps the fridge isn’t that safe for travelers in the first place.

it still doesn’t eliminate the fact that the fridge makes a great shortcut though! 


	17. skag gully

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/147231686819/skag-gully-is-a-place-from-borderlands-1-that-is) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. // -

skag gully is a place from borderlands 1 that is located right next door to (cue drum roll) fyrestone! for some reason, the place is chock full of skags throughout the year. it’s actually spread out over a large rocky plain.

in some areas, it’s rumored that there are hibernating rakk hives burrowed into the ground (easily distinguishable from scenery by their vivid pink and hole-ridden humps). not many people voluntarily enter the grounds to hunt (let alone for fun) because the chances of getting eaten alive skyrocket the second one does so.

lomadia and arsenal use the other entrance that’s located miles away from the fyrestone one. arsenal prefers that one because he’s dressed exactly like a bandit and is liable to be shot on sight by any townspeople who spot him. lomadia prefers the hidden entrance because that’s how she rolls.

the place has likely gone to the dogs (pun not intended) after they stopped using it; they remain to date, the only two people who used the hunting grounds on a regular basis. since then, nobody’s set foot in it for years. and that’s how the skags prefer it. 


	18. the dahl headland

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/147336207334/the-dahl-headland-is-where-daltos-and-arsenals) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. // -

the dahl headland is where daltos and arsenal’s gang resides! they are based in the far north, well away from any main roads. arsenal generally takes the long way around to skag gully since the claptrap units don’t exactly open the gates for bandits.

that’s okay, arsenal knows the area like the back of his hand so he’s got a few shortcuts and routes that are used only by bandits (generally consisting of getting air time across gaps where nobody’s thought to put a bridge down yet).

the place in the photo was formerly owned by a zaford who met their demise (being buried alive) at the hands of a former hodunk. the place might not be functional as a rest stop since then but the fast travel station still runs. it’s the location’s only saving grace.

aside from bandits, the place is also home to scythids, a species of pandoran wildlife that is on the same level of disgustingness as varkids. thankfully, they are easily run over. unfortunately, they are not edible, owing to their grotesque appearance turning anybody off them before they can think to try any part of them. 


	19. concordia (elpis)

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/153165726214/list-of-points-of-interest-in-concordia-part-1) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/153714558404/list-of-points-of-interest-in-concordia-part-2) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

list of points of interest in concordia, part 1: **  
**

  * balcony overlooking pandora and helios
  * main square
  * medical bay
  * area leading to triton flats



welcome to concordia, elpis’ one and only city and spaceport! there’s several locations that popped up in both ‘what’s yours is ours’ and chapter ten of ‘tlvh’. i thought it’d be easier to fit the extras post for both chapters into one.

the former meriff of concordia was executed by a hyperion executive roughly five to six years ago, leaving concordia in a state of brief lawlessness until a former bandit by the name of mintyminute arrived. in two days (some people will swear on their pet skag’s grave that it was just a matter of hours), minty single-handedly brought concordia under her control. witnesses say that she did it armed with only a jakobs pistol. others say that she did it with a rocket launcher. in any case, minty now runs concordia like its own town, free of any corporate or outside influences.

people speculate widely on the reasons why minty came to concordia, from seeking to satisfy her desire for control to running away from the bounty on her head back on pandora. concordia may not like minty but the alternative is to let hyperion walk in and take over the city.

> list of points of interest in concordia, part 2: **  
> **

  * scavs’ emporium of stuff
  * exterior of medical bay, bank, hotel and customs office
  * another shot of the customs office
  * interior of customs office
  * interior of hotel
  * interior of bank
  * dahl stingray ad that lalna saw



minty is also the bartender of ‘the captive creeper’, formerly the ‘up over’ bar. the bar’s former owner fled to pandora shortly before her arrival, allowing her to also claim the bar. she prefers to hang out in the bar rather than office.

not many know but minty is also famed for rivalling ravs in his brews; the two do have some former history as rival bandit leaders. surprisingly, minty and ravs continue to be on good (if a little prone to snark) terms. in bandit lingo, that’s the equivalent of respecting each other. other people think that they should just duke it out at some point. it’s difficult to say who’d win. it’d be like trying to see whether pirates or bandits are better.

minty’s also made a number of changes to concordia:

  * keeping track of people who pass through elpis on their way to pandora
  * giving zylus his job as the pilot between elpis and pandora
  * hiring zylus to build concordia’s defensive system
  * giving three of four former scavs (dave, nath and rob) run of the ‘emporium of stuff’ and scavenging duties
  * the last scav, hollie, became a doctor in the medical bay, assisted by one nurse berym
  * restoring security via giving bluari their job as customs officer
  * manhandling pyrionflax into watching over the defensive cannons lining concordia’s perimeter
  * keeping track of people who pass through elpis on their way to pandora 




	20. triton flats (elpis)

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/153340695879/the-last-and-only-extras-parts-of-triton-flats) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

interestingly enough, the name of the location containing the catch-a-ride (or known on elpis as the moon zoomy) station out front is called ‘diemen’s crater’. the triton flats was home to several gangs of scavs; scavs rarely populate the area these days unless they have an truce agreement with minty.

the majority died during minty’s purge of the surrounding areas to make concordia safer and in her takeover duels. aside from scavs, there are shuggurath spawns which render the area not exactly safe to live in, given that the creatures are highly aggressive. it doesn’t stop people (aka, scavs and stubborn citizens) from trying to live alongside them, though. minty has also banned unarmed citizens from wandering outside into the triton flats as a result.

lalna sneaking through the gates tripped bluari’s security system, leading them to warn minty and zylus of where he was going. it’s extremely lucky the latter two were able to reach lalna before he suffered severe frostbite and hypothermia due to extended cryo damage. boy, it’s a good thing that the people on elpis are just as friendly as the people on pandora! the members of hat corp. would probably disagree with that.


	21. friendship gulag (the dust)

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/154327704449/the-only-extras-post-covering-friendship-gulag) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

welcome to friendship gulag, a hyperion prison that was decimated prior to ‘tlvh’. it got revived during ‘tlvh’ to serve as the main location in the latter half of chapter eleven. there’s not much to say about friendship gulag, except that it’s staffed by hyperion guards, surveyors, loaders and necrophage plants at all hours.

breaking out happens more frequently than breaking in; the only people who get sent to friendship gulag are those caught sneaking about on helios, bounties, lawbreakers, idiots trying to break in and out again on a dare and other such types hyperion deems as criminals. it’s not really clear on how long hyperion detains these people or if they ever end up getting let go; once people end up in the prison, they tend not to emerge again.

in spite of pandora’s default state of lawlessness, hyperion is one of the few remnants of the law that function out in the dust. the only reason why they’re still standing is because if they’re left alone to do their thing, they’ll turn a blind eye to what’s happening outside its walls. given hyperion’s depleted presence on pandora, they’re content to remain put. 

it’s even debatable as to whether or not the guards are still under hyperion command. it should be noted that a few guards ditched their uniforms and joined parvis’ gang after surrendering, proceeding to enthusiastically destroy the place.

the prison was permanently destroyed by parvis’ gang following the events in chapter eleven, and with good riddance too. 


	22. southern shelf

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/154759958919/the-only-part-of-the-southern-shelf-including) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. // -

welcome to the southern shelf, an area based on pandora’s west coast. it’s a particularly frigid region and very, very few people live in these parts (following what went down in bl2) since it’s so damn hostile. the only animals that can be found in the region are rakks and bullymongs; both don’t take kindly to people who want to share their territory, especially bandits.

liar’s berg was formerly a crimson raider hideout, but that eventually changed months ago; it’s not clear what happened to the town, but hyperion was probably involved. as such, the town is empty. in any case, it suits teep’s purposes; teep uses the outpost just outside of the ghost town to survey bullymongs for zoeya’s research. they’re incredibly familiar with the region (helped along by their use of parkour to get around the ice floes and glaciers, especially once summer rolls around).

as you’d probably expect, teep fucking hates this place.

they try not to wander into the bays since any area beyond liar’s berg is packed with bullymongs who are often in partnerships with the rakks. teep has thinned out the population somewhat so they can get around to check all the hidden cameras without being hassled. they do carry tranquilizers but teep finds it more satisfying to simply off the dominant bullymong and watch them fight it out to determine the next leader.

they went after rythian because zoeya felt bad about giving rythian and lalna such a messy map; the map of the cameras was actually her creation and not teep’s. all the lines on the map are her routes; teep doesn’t believe in mapping out routes, preferring to rely on their own memory to navigate.

the same applies to where they left the cameras. 


	23. wildlife exploitation preserve

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/157858733369/reference-caps-for-the-wildlife-exploitation) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

there’s not a lot to say about the wildlife exploitation preserve, except that it fell into ruins shortly after hyperion abandoned it. a lot of people avoid this place due to rumours that the animals that were once experimented on have claimed it, and will show no mercy to those who trespass. of course, it doesn’t stop hatfilms from entering and claiming whatever loot they’re trying to find.

lomadia isn’t as bothered by this place or the rumours floating about. she wanders the reserve tending to animals who have been affected by the slag runoff, and frequently brings animals to be rehabilitated back here to recover. while she’s not the proper guardian of this place (the animals look after each one well enough without her), she does get pretty protective of what’s found here.

anyways, there were also experiments done on people on the site, so every now and again, people claim to view a spectre roaming or climbing the hills near overlook. this figure may or may not have a sniper rifle, blond and blue hair and a blue jacket. some claim that the figure rides a badass skag. others say that they fly on the back of a badass rakk. nilesy thinks that lomadia needs to stop trolling people.


	24. arid nexus

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/157938624794/reference-caps-for-arid-nexus-the-arid-nexus-area) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

the arid nexus area covers the badlands and the boneyards! it is also the site of the ghost town ‘fyrestone’, a carried over location from the first borderlands game! it makes a cameo appearance, mainly because it is also the site of the hyperion info stockade.

saturn is the massive loader protecting the location, and serves to deter most people looking to break into hyperion’s information network. those who can get past saturn will be rewarded with all of hyperion’s data at their fingertips- provided they can get past the other defences within the building, of course.

fyreuk also runs their radio station in the arid nexus area, and have built themselves a tidy little fortress in a cosy compound. they live on the site and find that the wall that they’ve built (plus saturn’s company) generally stops people trying to kill them for playing the wrong type of music (alternative pop is completely acceptable as an alternative to heavy metal,  _thank you very much_ ).

the two also do run a talk show. it features a number of topics and regular guests, such as:

  * how to avoid breaking skag pearls when you find them, featuring doctor zoeya (who can talk for a  _solid_  half an hour on skag guts), sometimes featuring her galaxy famous merc girlfriend saberial (who also has a billion interesting stories to tell)
  * life advice by ravs. e.g. please advise us on how to punch a guy’s face in with a smile
  * lalnable’s weekly medical tips. e.g. how to stop that obnoxious rash that keeps coming back, and if it’s really a rash and not a skag bit that’s gone really bad
  * the bloody bandits’ music channel, featuring behind the scenes content, such as how not to break your leg when doing sick stunts in a boosted technical off the dam, or how to stuff a dozen fireworks in a portable potty, or how to rig a singing fish to sing nonstop and drive your local doctor and lieutenant nuts
  * and a whole bunch of other miscellaneous content, like ads or paid shoutouts



it’s surprisingly popular. you can probably guess which channels get the most traffic.


	25. three horns valley (southpaw steam and power station)

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/158146126704/reference-caps-for-the-southpaw-steam-and-power) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

aka, hatfilms’ base! this is where they come to chill out when they’re not missions or trolling the rest of pandora (or being trolled themselves). hatfilms hasn’t cleaned up this place very much; it still retains a shitty atmosphere from when bandits used to live in it. 

so far, ravs (or the other vault hunters) isn’t aware of where hatfilms lives, and hatfilms prefers it that way. unfortunately, other people do know, which leads to the shenanigans involving saberial and hybridpanda attacking.

what goes around comes around!


	26. vorago solitude, tycho's ribs and eleseer (elpis)

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/158223324119/reference-caps-for-vorago-solitude-and-tychos) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/158578982214/reference-caps-for-eleseer-and-the-vault-of-the) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

“i have decided that these entries are better off not existing.” - rythian

“i feel like i’ve forgotten someone important.” - rythian

 


	27. lynchwood

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/141480724894/part-one-of-the-return-to-lynchwood-reference) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/141597517669/last-part-and-part-two-of-the-return-to-lynchwood) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

for lynchwood, i had to go back to some of the old areas where i suspected that a couple of mine entrances existed. and i was actually right! in the area with the lab and cannibal rats were two such entrances. 

the first leads down into a cavern (which i’ll get into, in the next part of this post); the other leads nowhere but it was perfect for where the vault hunters, saberial, ravs and benji entered to go and find strippin.

now that we’re actually in the cavern itself, dukino’s mom is an actual boss in the game. the ones the vault hunters from ‘tlvh’ fought was ‘dukino’s dad’, a giant, almost blind skag that got stuck down here and fed off lost miners. sounds like an urban legend? i would hope so.

as usual, i took these caps with no hud and kept swapping in and out between sniper rifles while constantly being on the move. taking these shots was not that difficult but dukino’s mom kept alternating between following me, roaring, firing electrical shocks and shooting its laser.


	28. digistruct peak

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/140797315459/part-one-of-the-digistruct-peak-reference), [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/140896729049/part-two-of-the-digistruct-peak-reference), [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/141015444064/part-three-of-the-digistruct-peak-reference), [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/141132127279/part-four-of-the-digistruct-peak-reference) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/141241940789/the-last-and-fifth-part-of-the-digistruct-peak) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

welcome to [digistruct peak](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fborderlands.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FThe_Raid_on_Digistruct_Peak&t=NWEzZGM2Njk1Nzc3MmIwYTM4MmNmMzZiZTlhYzQyOThmODhhNTZhMyxFM0VhSGExaQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AgdWBvoObiys_376Etn3eVA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fborderlandscast.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F140797315459%2Fpart-one-of-the-digistruct-peak-reference&m=0)! this place was used in borderlands 2 as a training ground for the crimson raiders (if you’re savvy with borderlands canon, you’ll recognize that name). as i mentioned in the author’s notes, ravs had to really pull some strings to get in touch with the crimson raiders to borrow this place.

all the enemies in this place are digistructed, which means they’re essentially holograms that shoot and hit like real enemies. that means that yes, if you get hit, it will hurt something fierce, depending the difficulty of the course.

i mentioned in[ this post](http://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/128335112064/hello-i-may-or-may-not-be-planning-to-doodle-more) ages ago about the respective levels of all the vault hunters. digistruct peak is intended to really push anybody who enters the gauntlet to the best of their skills and abilities by throwing all sorts of enemies at them. including bosses.

since digistruct peak is set in the northernmost region of pandora’s west coast, at night, there’s a gorgeous aurora display going on.

these areas are actually part of the lower op tiers. the more difficult the op tiers, the more areas that are opened up. 

i do think that ravs would have played nice during the ‘capture the flag’ game and set all the enemies to something that would have given team lalnanorife a challenge but wouldn’t have wiped them out in one go.

he still didn’t believe they’d have won in the end because he was confident in his, rythian and teep’s teamwork (something that’s still holding up after years of not having worked together but hey, that’s the power of friendship for you).

there’s actually not a lot of cover in any of these open areas, so i suppose ravs chose to fight them in the town area where there is more cover (also making teep’s job more difficult) to give them a fighting chance. 

it’s actually a good thing that rythian did what he had to do before the enemy team entered said open areas or else teep would have actually sniped the shit out of them and ended the game prematurely.

a looonnng time ago, ravs and teep borrowed digistruct peak several times prior to that of the four vault hunters, particularly to figure out on how their roles in combat would work after rythian’s m.i.a. stunt. it was also to keep their skills sharp; neither of them probably felt like running any jobs after rythian left.

they also failed digistruct peak horrifically the first few times since they were just not used to working with each other since it was usually rythian stopping their team from falling apart. the two made it work in the end. that’s how they have a time record (which they eventually broke in chapter nine) for running through op8 without dying.

yes, they did run the gauntlet from op1 all the way to op8. they had a  _lot_  of free time on their hands, okay. 

and hey, ravs is right: nothing else gets a team to bond like a life-threatening, adrenaline pumping obstacle course full of things that want to murder you and your teammate/s. if it worked for him and teep, he is so sure that it’ll work for anybody else.

 


	29. earl's scrapyard

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/132135412784/these-are-reference-caps-of-earls-scrapyard-where) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

the borderlands 1 vault hunters cleared the area of bandits and the owner of the scrapyard has long since moved on. the only thing left are the spiderants and skags; they are very territorial. 

thankfully, the vault hunters were able to get rid of them easily to enter the abandoned factory.


	30. scylla's grove

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/126448348329/i-hate-this-place-i-forgot-to-upload-caps-of) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

scylla’s grove is pretty gloomy so it shouldn’t surprise anybody that rythian hates going through this place. also, if he does visit again with the other vault hunters in tow, he is going to complain incessantly about how this place is ruining his boots and he’s getting mud on his coat and etc. JUST BECAUSE HE CAN AND WILL. will strife also thinks along the same line as rythian but at least he’s not going to complain (much). lalna and nanosounds are too busy exploring and shooting at things to even notice.

just wait until lalna and nanosounds discover the fan boats at the catch-a-ride station in the area. lalna is probably the only one who’s got the guts to tag-team with nanosounds when she’s driving. this leaves rythian and will in the same boat (pun not intended) by default; any other combination in regards to driving is probably going to end in disaster. 


	31. technicals and light runners

\- / / PLEASE CLICK [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/124344521509/if-i-could-change-the-license-plate-from-magical), [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/124635267474/lalnas-choice-of-skin-for-his-technical-i), [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/125986540304/the-most-obnoxious-orange-coloured-ride-on-pandora), [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/126069605793/well-i-cant-fault-will-strife-for-choosing-red) AND [HERE](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/163158995804/ravs-hasnt-driven-his-technical-in-a-long-long) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

> If I could change the license plate from ‘Magical 2099′, I would but all attempts so far have resulted in it reverting back every single time I digistruct the technical. I wonder if I can get Lalna to change the blueprint? 
> 
> I suspect something is wrong with my technical because it’s running much more smoothly than usual; there’s none of the usual engine resistance when trying to get it to maximum speed. The turret appears to be firing off more saws than usual.
> 
> Lalna’s choice of skin for his technical. I believe he’s doodled ‘How’s my driving’ into the door under the turret. It’s not my technical so I can’t really gripe about what he chooses to doodle on it, but really,  _pink_? I have nothing against pink, but anybody with a halfway decent scope can spot us coming from a mile away.
> 
> I’m sitting in the back. At least it offers more cover there.
> 
> The most obnoxious orange coloured ride on Pandora and it belongs to Xephos and Honeydew.
> 
> Well, I can’t fault Will Strife for choosing red. At least it hides the blood stains from anything he runs over or into. Will Strife is probably the only other safe driver on the team. By ‘safe’, I mean the chances of him ‘accidentally’ driving over a cliff are far more reduced compared to when Lalna, Nanosounds and Ravs are driving.
> 
> Ravs hasn’t driven his technical in a long, long time but from what I can remember, he prefers the skin called ‘Roadkill’. I’m not sure if that’s actual blood on the hood or something else entirely, like paint. 
> 
> He would be a decent driver if he weren’t so intent on hitting everything in our path in an attempt to get even with Teep’s score. Or going too fast. Or insisting on doing jumps. He also has a notorious habit of making me switch seats with him right before doing a jump so he can laugh at my fear. It’s not that I don’t fear the jumps, but rather, the fact that we’d been about to hit a badass bullymong on the landing.
> 
> Thankfully the technical was still intact on the landing.
> 
> \- Rythian


	32. caustic caverns

\- / / PLEASE [CLICK](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/123522416908/here-is-a-whole-bunch-of-screencaps-i-took-while) TO PROCEED TO IMAGE GALLERY. / / -

  * **picture 1:**  view of the lift leading up to sanctuary from the entry chamber of the caustic caverns.
  * **picture 2:**  what the vault hunters see after the door is opened. they would not have been able to see teep on the train tracks. you can see some varkids wandering around. zoeya thinks they’re adorable. teep thinks they should be eliminated as fast and painfully as possible so a badass doesn’t spawn.
  * **picture 3:**  teep’s pov from the dahl building roof. i got up here using the lift to the spiderant ramparts near the other thresher infested place. fun fact: lalna moved so fast behind cover that teep didn’t even have time to shoot him. lalna moved from between the gap in between the two buildings (on the right under the pipe) to the middlemost shipping container. that is actually quite a distance!
  * **picture 4:**  still on the roof. teep is hiding here while rythian is trying to find them. another bonus fact: teep single-handedly cleared the location of spiderants, threshers and varkids (possibly with or without zoeya’s knowledge). teep also probably called in ravs to help. ravs speciality is punching things, which teep is fine with. the two actually do get along even if they end up competing to see who can get the most kills. zoeya drags teep up to sanctuary hole for supplies every now and then. teep just ends up hanging out in ravs’ bar while zoeya goes and does her thing before coming to collect them. zoeya usually spends a while chatting to ravs. they are all very good friends and with rythian as well. it looks like nanosounds and lalna are also well on their way to making new friendships which is actually the theme of this au (i’m kidding, it’s all about guns and making rythian’s life suck as much as possible).
  * **picture 5:**  front door to the building. just pretend there are rectangular windows with metal shutters since ravs punched the walls out and installed the metal shutters to let zoeya look out over the caverns 
  * **picture 6:**  front of the building from ground level. 
  * **picture 7:**  rythian’s pov from behind the truck.
  * **picture 8:**  the location of the first crystalisk they sedated, just a quick walk from zoeya’s base. you can even see a crystalisk in the distance which wandered into the shot. interestingly, there are remnants of eridian ruins here. rythian has been here before prior to zoeya and teep moving in.
  * **picture 9:**  what teep would have seen while perched on top of the train tracks. it overlooks the lift back up to sanctuary hole.
  * **picture 10:**  bonus crystalisk. they’re apparently acid proof!




	33. ???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> original post is located [here](https://borderlandscast.tumblr.com/post/168846230079/these-photographs-were-discovered-as-part-of).

these photographs were discovered as part of rythian’s thesis, long after he discarded his extensive studies on the vaults of pandora, and have been reconstructed.


End file.
